The Journey of Severus and Harry
by DragonShifter
Summary: Harry enter's the wizarding world and learns alot about himself and where he comes from. This is a rewrite of an old HP fic.
1. Chapter 1

Severus Snape was pacing his office. He had just finished talking to Dumbledore about Harry Potter. It was Harry's first year in the wizarding world and Severus wasn't too happy about that. But, as Severus thought about it, Dumbledore had been correct about Severus's hatred for James Potter that had made him be a pain in Harry's first potions class. He almost didn't say anything when he noticed that Harry had exactly Lily's eyes. He shouldn't have acted the way he did.

How could Harry know anything about the wizarding world? Severus knew Harry didn't because he had checked in on Harry from time to time as Harry grew up. He didn't necessarily like what he saw. Harry's Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin weren't very nice to Harry, they had treated him like a house elf. He had to smile when he thought about the cousin's birthday. Severus was glad he decided to check up on Harry that day.

He had suggested the squib take a break from keeping an eye out for Harry since her leg had been broken from one of her cats. He may not have liked Harry at the time for James Potter's bullying, but he remembered growing up without parents or guardians letting him have any fun. He could to a degree, sympathize with Harry given his own childhood. Severus arranged it so the Dursley's had no other choice but to take Harry to the zoo. Severus followed them around the zoo, which had been boring. He had a hard time not laughing when Harry unknowingly set the boa constrictor on his cousin and his friend.

It had surprised him though that the snake seemed to understand the boy. It was a perplexing matter that he would have to think about. After smiling over that memory, Severus sat down at his desk and closed his eyes. He remembered visiting the Potter house the night the Potters died. He remembered going inside and seeing Lily lying on the ground in the nursery and hearing Harry cry for his mother. Tears came to his eyes when he thought about that night and when Lily stopped talking to him.

He wished that he had never made the decision to become a Death Eater. Making that decision had been a big part of Lily not wanting anything to do with him. Now that he thought about it, Severus had forgiven James Potter for everything he had ever done to him without realizing he had. He wiped away his tears and resigned to apologize to Harry the next morning for his rudeness towards the boy. Maybe Harry would be more like his mother than he first expected of him. After all, Harry had been taking notes when he had been telling everyone what potions entailed.

The Next Morning

Harry was sitting at the Gryffindor table eating his breakfast when Professor Snape walked up to him and asked for a word in private. Harry got up and followed Professor Snape to a quiet corner in the entrance hall. "Look, I am sorry for yesterday. Can you forgive me?" He asked "I let my dislike of your father get the better of me and that clouded my mind. I would like to start over again and say, thank you for at least trying to take notes on what I was saying, I know that I wasn't very pleasant about it."

Harry looked startled. He didn't know what to think about this teacher who had seemed to dislike him asking him to forgive him. He looked at Professor Snape for what seemed five minutes and said "I forgive you. I did not know you didn't like my father. Please, let me know if I do anything wrong. I would be glad to let you know if I am having trouble with anything."

"Thank you. Harry, you wouldn't mind if I made it seem as if I didn't like you." Harry looked confused. "Why?" he blurted out, immediately covering his mouth. He had promised himself he would try to do better here and not be different. "Sorry" he said, thinking out loud. "You probably want people to think you don't like me." As his mind processed what the professor.

Severus caught the question and confused look and hand motion. He let it slide and agreed with Harry's out loud statement. He wished the boy good luck with his day's lessons, walking away thinking on Harry's reactions to his question. Harry walked back to his spot at the Gryffindor Table and sat down. "What was that about Harry?" asked Hermione. "Oh, nothing, Snape just wanted to have a word about his class."

Harry replied as he picked up his toast and took a bite. He was wondering what in the world had his dad done to professor Snape to cause him to be rude to him yesterday. It was curious, and it got him thinking. When he wasn't being chased around by Dudley, Harry usually spent time observing the kids around him at school and noticed how people behaved. The only people who ended up like the Slytherin head of house were bullied by others. Perhaps his dad had bullied the poor potions teacher when they were in school. He shrugged mentally, trying to brush away the thought. What did he know, he was just a kid. He took a bite of breakfast and looked over the daily prophet that he had borrowed from Neville. He thought to himself that the wizarding world would never cease to amaze him.


	2. Chapter 2

A few months into the year had Severus noticing that Harry was a bit different from other students. Not only did he not know about the wizarding world, but lacked some basic understanding of society and life. Had those blundering morons of muggles teach him nothing. The Slytherin in him wanted to hunt them down and ask why Harry didn't know how to be around people. It took many hours for Dumbledore to calm him down.

After he calmed down, in his chambers, did he start to think? He unconsciously started to pace in front of his fireplace. Harry wasn't the only neglected child to come to Hogwarts, and the sallow-faced man knew it, for he had been one of them. Some of Harry's mannerisms and behaviors indicated that perhaps that he was…...Severus stopped his pacing. He would have to get Minerva and Poppy to agree to test the boy. He only hoped that his hunch wasn't right, or he would have to be more vigilant.

The Next Day:

"Come on Minerva, Surely you have noticed that the boy was a bit different," Dumbledore said. He was sitting behind his desk as he watched the deputy headmistress paced around his office with the potions master and school nurse watching her. Severus had asked for this meeting to be set up between the four of them to discuss Mr. Potter. He had heard what the Slytherin head of house had to say, and Poppy and himself could see where He was coming from.

After all, all of the staff who interacted with the boy and the school health administrator had had time to observe the boy and couldn't deny the signs. But if the headmaster knew his deputy headmistress and longtime friend as well as he did, he knew she would take it hard. Not everyone knew what Dumbledore knew about the woman. She had been the secret mother to Lily Potter and was fiercely protective of that secret. What had gotten her so agitated to pace was the fact that Severus Snape, the man she had taken in as her own once it was discovered he had been abused and neglected by his family, was saying her grandson was Autistic.

"I have noticed, but I was just hoping it was just nervousness and not knowing about the wizarding world." She looked at the other three people in the room with palpable anxiety surrounding her. "Mother," Severus started. "Please calm down. You knew he would be special. Look at Lily, She was one of the most gifted witches to ever have lived in recent years. Please, can we please let one of the Saint Mungo Mind Healers come and test and observe him?" McGonagall looked at her adoptive son, He must be serious for he rarely called her mother. "Alright, but we are taking him there. I will not have him being stared or made fun of that a mind healer and he were seen together."


	3. Chapter 3

Harry looked around at all the people as they walked down the street. As he followed Madame Pomfrey and Professor Snape. He had been taken aside three days ago by Professor Mcgonagall and was asked if he had ever been to see a head doctor before when he was younger. He had said not that he could remember and was asked if he felt different from other kids. He had to think about it. He had felt different but thought every other kid felt different.

He had told her as much, which caused the professor to burst out in laughter. It startled some passing 6th and 7th year gryffindors. "Harry, while it is usual for kids to feel different from time to time, in your case you are a special case. It was brought to my attention that you may have a very special brain in that skull of yours. In a few days time you will be taken to Saint Mungos to visit some healers to get you checked out is that understood?" Harry nodded. "Good. Meet Professor Snape and Madame Pomfrey in the hospital wing at 9 a.m. sharp okay." Harry nodded his head again, receiving a dismissal from his head of house.

When the time for him to go to Saint Mungos, Harry reported to the hospital wing at nine a.m.. Professor Snape and Madame Pomfrey were waiting. They looked him up and down in what Harry could only guess to see if he looked presentable. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon always looked at him in that way when he had to go outside of the house. They asked him if he was ready to go. He nodded, and they proceeded to explain that they were going to be using a thing called a portkey. After explaining what it was, they had him hold on to the shoe that was supposed to be the portkey.

He had to swallow the urge to pull away from the shoe when he saw how old and worn out it was, and tried not to pull away from his potions professor and The school nurse when they grabbed the shoe too. Suddenly he felt a hard tugging behind his navel, causing him to feel like he was going to get whiplash due to the sudden pull. The pull quickly subsided after what felt like forever. It took Harry a minute to gain his bearings. He bent over, closing his eyes and breathing. He felt nauseous and dizzy. "Is that thing supposed to make people sick?" he asked staying bent over with eyes still closed. "Sometimes it does. But that is not always the case." replied the nurse. "Do you need a soother for your stomach dear? I have one in my bag." She asked as Harry slowly straightened out.

"I think I will be okay." was the reply. Severus looked at Poppy. She looked back and nodded. "Come on Harry" The potions master said as he gently put his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Your appointment is soon. We must get to the hospital." Green eyes met Black eyes. There there were questions in those emerald eyes. Severus kneel slowly as not to scare the boy. "Harry, I know you have questions, but I also know that this appointment will help Myself, Madame Pomfrey, and all the other staff at Hogwarts figure out to answer you okay."

Harry just nodded. Severus lead the way to the the plain building that housed St. Mungos. He knew this building well, for he had been here for the very same reason Harry was here when he was 15 years old on Minerva's insistence. Also at his adoptive mother's insistence, he had to come here for counseling. He guided Harry to the check in desk so the hospital could get things started. After checking in, trio sat down to wait. They waited for five minutes before Harry's name was called. Given the circumstances of Harry's childhood before coming to Hogwarts, it took time to stitch together what Severus knew, the records from the rare doctor visits and school records that were hurriedly obtained, also what little Harry was willing to share to figure out what set Harry apart.

After a few hours, the mind healer was ready to share her opinion. "I must say, this is unexpected." The healer said. " I never expected the son of Lily and James Potter's child to be so behind. He is autistic, but I would recommend investigating Harry's history with the muggles. He was not treated well. I would also recommend that someone from the magical world have custody of Harry. He was not treated fairly while under his muggle families roof."

After sharing her opinion, Poppy and Severus asked for further recommendations. They left soon after, taking Harry back to Hogwarts, making sure that he was settled in the library to work on his make up homework from the day's classes. They then asked for a staff meeting to discuss what to do next.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day found a school holiday in effect for the students while the staff of Hogwarts, the minister of magic, Amelia Bones, A few Aurors, Goblins, Medical staff from Saint Mungo's and some officials from the muggle ministry met in an empty classroom to discuss one, Harry James Potter. "So, Harry Potter is Autistic. What do we do about that?" Asked Fudge. The healer who evaluated Harry spoke up. "Yes, He is autistic. I also observed some signs of emotional and mental abuse. He also moved in such a way that I would like Harry to be checked out physically checked out."

"What are you saying Mila? That Harry was not treated well by his family?" McGonagall and Fudge said in unison. Mila nodded. "We are here to back up Mila Jiansan." The head goblin spoke up. " we also are here on the request of Mrs. Bones here because it appears that while you all were resting last night, One Severus Snape asked that Amelia looks into if anything of importance was left in the Potter Vaults indicating the wishes Harry's Parents concerning Harry."

"Was anything found?" asked Dumbledore. He was concerned about Harry. He had been very upset about what was in the report given to Severus and Poppy to share with Hogwarts staff. He had not expected the boy to experience such trauma on top of being autistic. It made him angry and had to be talked down by Severus Snape of all people to not go after Harry's Muggle family. The goblins all nodded in unison. One of the goblins put a box on the table and pulled out several envelopes also some keys and smaller objects.

"We have found their wills. The things you see now are letters addressed to certain individuals here and elsewhere, also proof of the character of certain individuals and keys to some vaults. There are also instructions attached to some of these letters as to do next." Dumbledore nodded and asked that the letters that were addressed to those present be distributed. The small beings acquiesced, distributing the letters and other items. Severus was surprised when he was given a letter tied to a bundle of papers. As the rest of the people gathered further discussed Harry's situation, Severus shakily opened the letter.

Dear Severus,

I know that I haven't spoken to you for a few months, and I may not again. But I have something to tell you something before I possibly die. You may never need to read this if I do live. I hope I do live and can tell you this in person someday but in case I don't live, I need to write this. I know that the last time I saw you; it was right before you left for Albania to do the dark lord's bidding.

I told James of our last meeting and he does not begrudge me of what happened. But I need to say this, that meeting had a much-unexpected result. My son, our son, which is to say yours and my son, Harry, happened. I know that he may look like James when he gets older, but that is an illusion I put on him that will last indefinitely unless removed. The release charm to this illusion charm is simple. You just have to say "Pratunam rotilicious"….. Snape stopped reading and begun to hyperventilate. Did the letter just say what he thought it said? He read the beginning of the letter and then stopped again. He set down the letter and got a drink of water from a pitcher of water on one of the tables laden with drinks and food for today's meeting. He picked up the letter again and continued reading after sitting to finish the letter. "I know that this may be a shock reading this news in a letter. By all means, you can check it out. I'm sure you have the means to do so. Please believe me though when I say that Harry is our son. Please be kind to him and love him for me if I am not alive.

Sincerely,

Lily

It took all he had not to bolt from the room. He quickly showed the letter to Dumbledore and Amelia. They immediately asked for some of his hair to do the test. They also summoned Harry to do some medical scans on him and to see if the spell in Lily's letter worked. In the meantime, they worked with the muggle ministry officials on what needed to be done legally to look into the Dursleys. Once that was decided, they left to get that plan in motion. Harry showed up, and the scans were started. When Lily's spell was tested, everyone was shocked when it worked. Soon after that, the DNA test came back positive.

It was then discussed what would happen to Harry. After 2 hours of deliberation, It is was decided that Harry would stay with Severus at Prince manor since it was Severus's ancestral home during breaks and in the potion master's quarters during the year due to Harry's Autism. As the meeting came to an end, the goblins handed Severus an envelope and a smaller stack of papers for Harry to open at Severus's discretion. The last to leave the gathering were the medi witches and wizards as it took them a little longer to scan Harry.

This left Harry alone with Severus, Dumbledore, and Minerva. "Does this mean I get to stay with you, Professor?" Harry asked. Severus kneeled in front of his son. "Yes, it does. Do you understand why?" Harry shook his head. "I want you to listen to me okay. One of the tests the doctors ran today was to see who your parents were. The test said was that I was your dad." Harry thought for a minute. "I think I understand. Does that still mean that you can be nice to me now?" he asked in a curious tone. Severus nodded then spoke again. "Harry, I want you to know that I am like you. I am autistic. If you don't want hugs or if anything bothers you, let me know okay." Harry nodded, then gave Severus a big hug.

For the rest of the day, Severus got his living quarters ready for Harry. He asked Harry what he wanted and what should be done. It took a few days to transition Harry to his quarters, and rumors to start to fly. After three days, Dumbledore called for the school's attention at dinner. " I know that there have been rumors concerning one Harry Potter and one Severus Snape. I also know that these rumors are not kind. I would like to clear up a few things. Harry Potter is a special case. He has autism, also is Severus Snape's son. If there are problems with this, please take it up with your heads of houses so we may come up with a solution. Thank you for hearing me out. Please enjoy your dinner."


	5. Chapter 5

"Severus, you need to calm down." Dumbledore soothingly said as he rubbed the younger man's back. According to the medical scans that had been done on Harry, he was malnourished and behind physically by a year or two. This caused the potion's master to panic. "What were those muggles thinking, doing to their nephew."

"Calm down. We both know now how much Petunia disliked magic. However, I know for a fact that Harry has flourished since coming here. Especially since I know you have been helping him in any way you can." Severus looked up at the headmaster. "That may be the case. But...this has all been so unexpected. I did not expect that that last meeting with her was going to end up with me being a father, let alone the fear that I have now that when Voldemort makes his appearance, that he will find out that Harry is my son."

At this point, Severus was breathing fast. Dumbledore knew he had to act fast. He sent a Patronus to Minerva and did his best to kneel in front of the man who he looked upon as if he were his own. "Severus, no one expects that outcome. Lily and James were married within a reasonable amount of time after your encounter. No one could have known That Harry was yours."

Minerva arrived through the floo, and knelt in front of her son. As she did so, Severus looked at her. "What if he tries to do the same thing to Harry?" He asked. "Harry is a smart young man, and He is starting to understand that he is loved. I do not think Voldemort will be able to sway him." Severus looked down. He breathed deeply, then smiled.

"Thank you. I needed that. But...We do need to make sure nothing can get past Hagrid's dog."

"Agreed." the headmaster and deputy headmistress both replied.


End file.
